"We’re doomed..." Ethan repeated to himself, looking at the empty interior of that warehouse.
How much food was there? Five pounds of dried meat... about twenty pounds of grain.
Of course, many citizens had their own personal warehouses, and his own mansion stored some food.
But even so, with that miserable amount...
No, it wasn’t possible.
Ethan turned his face to Ulric, noticing the calmness on the old man’s face, and even on the face of the attendant in charge of the warehouse.
No... that was wrong.
"I’m going to check the fields now," Ethan declared, a thin thread of murderous intent running through his bones.
Honestly, he was confused as to why Ulric was using these tactics to undermine his power, even at the risk of killing everyone there.
Perhaps because of the priest who warned them of the arrival of the Golden Lords?
Yes... that was possible.
Ulric might be acting so cautiously because, even in this isolated region, an order to exterminate from a priest of the Church would be devastating.
If he wanted to get rid of Ethan, he would have to do it in a way that left no loose ends.
"As you wish, my lord!" Ulric laughed, his face full of amusement as he watched his lord’s bitter expression.
Silently, Ethan and Evelyn followed him.
Most of the houses there had their own personal cultivation areas, but even so, when the Darkwall family formed the settlement, they cleared a large area, creating a field of about 100,000 square meters.
This field was in a relatively remote part, with a small stream cutting through it and a few workers tending it.
The size was insufficient to provide enough food for a small village for the entire winter on its own, but, together with fishing, hunting, and gathering herbs in the forest, it should be enough.
Especially with how small the current population of the settlement was.
"Are these all the workers?" Ethan asked, counting three adult men.
Everyone stopped working when they saw the new lord arrive, watching him with curiosity and a hint of hostility.
"Currently, yes, my lord. There should be more people here, but we have so few hands and the harvests have been so poor that it’s simply not worth the energy," Ulric replied.
"Hm... Gather all the citizens of the village," Ethan ordered.
"Uh? My lord, it’s work time, everyone is-"
"Now," Ethan repeated, cutting the old man off.
Ulric gritted his teeth, turning to the workers in the field.
"What are you waiting for? You heard the Lord, gather everyone here!"
Nodding, the workers ran toward the houses, passing the news along.
Soon, more than sixty people surrounded the field, watching Ethan and Evelyn with suspicious looks.
With a sigh, Ethan took an item out of the system’s warehouse.
[Name: Growth Bonus Card.
Description: A powerful growth card imbued with magical energy. Its area of effect is small, but it improves the growth rate of plants absurdly, reducing the need for nutrients and sunlight.
Effect: +350,000% growth bonus in a two hundred by two hundred meter area around the user.
Duration: 48 hours. ]
"Hm... the area and duration aren’t great, but the effect..." Ethan almost drooled.
It was simply incredible, even if the area covered less than half of that entire field.
The golden card in Ethan’s hands quickly caught everyone’s attention as he walked to the center of the field.
Kneeling down, he took a single corn seed from his storage and planted it.
"My lord, the soil isn’t ready for planting yet!" One of the farmers protested, but Ethan ignored him.
With a smooth motion, he grabbed the bonus card, and then tore it up.
Immediately, the world around him began to change.
Mana spread across the field in an explosion, and the black earth was overtaken by a subtle golden glow.
The villagers covered their mouths in shock, retreating with frightened steps as the golden glow dominated everything.
Children threw themselves into their mothers’ arms, and even Ulric’s previously calm face changed completely.
What the hell had happened there? What kind of profane magic was this?
Ethan stood up, looking down. Everyone’s eyes followed his.
Beneath his feet, a sprout appeared, growing at a speed visible to the naked eye.
In just a few seconds, it had already reached five centimeters, and it kept growing.
There was total silence as the minutes passed.
The corn stalk grew taller and taller, soon reaching Ethan’s waist, then his chest. Three fruits appeared on the stalk, developing at an equally frightening speed.
After about thirty minutes, the growth stopped completely.
Ethan turned his face toward the people, watching a man break through the crowd.
Over ninety years old, he was the oldest among them, his entire life dedicated to nothing but agriculture.
He approached, grabbed one of the fruits with his calloused hand, and peeled it.
The corn underneath was flawless. Perfect. A yellow so pure it looked like gold.
It was the largest and healthiest cob he had ever seen in his entire life, and there were three of them on the same stalk.
Opening his mouth, he used what few teeth he had left to take a bite.
The taste of raw corn wasn’t good, but to him, it was like the most perfect delicacy.
Where had such perfection been hidden for so long?
His eyes filled with tears. And he fell to his knees.
"I salute Lord Goldenveil!" He roared, prostrating himself repeatedly, and the entire population of the settlement followed suit.